Adducing reasons for featuring the four-year-old, Bamuyiwa wrote of the photograph: “I want to portray the interception between her childhood and adulthood so both stay timeless!

“I could have made her smile and make her laugh out loud, but I put her in their natural moments for us to see through their eyes!

“Posing them as adults was my trick to create it a timeless portrait!”

She then encouraged, “Jare, when you clock 21, remember to do same pose and style.”

Bamuyiwa notes that children are a gift from heaven, confessing that she is “pretty excited and elated about (her) new style of child portraiture.”

She said that before she thought of photographing Jare and her two sisters — 10-year-old Joba and seven-year-old Jomi — fondly called the ‘J3 sisters,’ she had had “frivolous ideas” of how she could make “artsy portraits of kids” and do away with the norm.

“The opportunity came and I had to take a bold step to express my ideas of how I want to take portraits of kids,” she said of the Jare portrait.

But while Bamuyiwa cautions that Jare isn’t a professional model, the kids’ Instagram page, the_J3_sisters, managed by their mum, says, “Child models. Available for modelling opportunities,” complete with an e-mail address.

Jare’s two older sisters have also posed for photographs, Bamuyiwa said.

“All I want is for everyone to see Jare’s powerful potential… I want the photo to speak to her when she reaches adulthood,” the talented photographer said

So many Nollywood actors were once big time models and Emmanuel Ikubese, the current Mr. Nigeria and Mr. World Africa explained why he and the likes of Alex Ekubo, Bryan Okwara, Gbenro Ajibade and IK Ogbonna, didn’t find it difficult going into the make-belief industry.

Ikubese who is also a United Nations Millennium Development Goals ambassador said, “Models can be likened to footballers and at some point, they become too old to compete with younger boys. I started modelling when I was about 17 years old because I have the stature and I could do catwalks very well. I am not saying that there are no older models but if you look at it closely, especially in the international scene, you would not see a 32- year- old man modelling.

“If you have a talent, you can use modelling as a platform to launch your talent in either acting, music or any other sector. If you can put it into use, you can do a lot more because as a model, things you can do are limited. Acting in a film is different from walking on the runway. As an actor, I can touch lives and that makes me happy as a person. It is one of the things I love to do. As a model, you are not doing that and it is not fulfilling because you would just look good to sell someone’s product. Before I ventured into acting, I used to sing and I was also a disc jockey. The way I got into acting was even divine because I went for auditions and before long, I was called to play several roles. If I were to choose which I love to do the most, I would definitely go for acting.”

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Super-thin models and secretly airbrushed photoshoots will soon be a thing of the past in fashion hub France, as authorities passed measures to protect young people from the dangers of anorexia.

A new law entered into force on Saturday which compels all models operating in France to provide a doctor’s note certifying that their Body Mass Index (BMI) is not too low and that they are in overall good health.

Under a second law, to come into force in October, all pictures of models that have been altered or photoshopped will have to carry a disclaimer to that effect.

The health ministry said the two measures aimed “to avoid the promotion of unattainable ideas of beauty and to prevent youth anorexia” as well as to protect the health of models, who are especially at risk from being underweight.

The doctor’s note will be valid for two years and will look particularly at a model’s BMI, with a reading under 18.5 classed underweight and liable to suffer from health problems.

BMI is calculated based on a ratio of height to weight with the average range generally between 18.5 and 24.9.

Employers contravening these laws could be liable to up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 75,000 euros ($82,500).

Some 600,000 young people are thought to suffer from eating disorders in France, including 40,000 people suffering from anorexia.

Eating disorders are the second most common cause of death of 15-24 year-olds, after road accidents.

The new laws follow similar measures taken in Spain in 2006, which banned models with a BMI under 18 from Madrid Fashion Week.

Israel has also banned agencies from employing models with a BMI under 18.5, as well as photo-shopping.

In Italy, there is no precise law but the top agencies do not employ models with a BMI under 18.5.

Popular Instagram model, Kristyna Martelli who is known for her multiple plastic surgeries has died.

Reports about her death was posted on her face book page on Wednesday. It was reported that Kristyna died on Tuesday, April 18. It was reported that she died after having a seizure while undergoing more surgery.

On her website, kristynamartelli.com, Kristyna listed her height at 5-feet 6-inches, with a weight of 125 pounds. She was born on May 15, 1993. Martelli gave the size of her breast implant as 1800cc, which gave her a 32JJ bra size. She said her buttocks were 42 inches, with a waist only 25.5 inches around.

Plus-size models display creations by designer Osa Aisien from Ma’Bello Clothier, the first solely Nigerian brand catering for women with curves, at the Lagos Fashion and Design Week in Nigeria on October 26, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS

Karl Lagerfeld once sniffed that “no one wants to see curvy women” on the runway, but a wave of Nigerian designers are proving him wrong.

The opening night of Lagos and Fashion Design Week on Wednesday featured five designers showcasing plus-size collections in a defiant celebration of all things curvy.

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but if he was in Africa, he probably wouldn’t make that statement,” designer Aisha Abubakar Achonu told AFP backstage.

Achonu, a regal 32-year-old with feline eyes, said that in Nigeria bigger can be better.

“Our culture appreciates plus-size more than other parts of the world,” she said. “No woman should be subjected to looking a certain way.”

Most seemed to agree. When the lights went up and the first plus-size model strode onto the runway wearing sunglasses, crimson lips and a ton of attitude, the crowd went wild.

“Oh. My. God,” said a woman in the audience with an afro and gold hoop earrings.

“Wow.”

Booming business

A plus-size model shows off some of the new collection from ÀSSIÀN by fashion designer Matiu Gordun at the Lagos Fashion and Design Week in Nigeria on October 26, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / STEFAN HEUNIS

Unlike the hesitant, calf-like models before them, the curvy women owned the runway, blowing kisses to the cameras as they shimmied down the catwalk to hoots and cheers.

Model Olivia Emenike, who is a size 18 and stands over six feet tall, says she wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I’ve never criticised my big bones or thick thighs. No one should feel ashamed of what they have,” said the 25-year-old.

“I wanted to be part of this event and show that plus-size women are fashionable.”
Plus-size clothing is shedding its dowdy reputation as more big name stores including

Target and Mango introduce larger lines.

US actress Melissa McCarthy introduced her own Seven7 brand after no one would make her a dress for the 2012 Academy Awards, with her manifesto declaring “clothes should flatter our bodies and not just try to cover us up.”

Annual US sales of women’s plus-size clothing — 14 and higher — rose to $20.4bn in 2016, according to market research firm NPD Group.

With studies showing that waistlines are starting to bulge in Africa too, designers are set to cash in on the growing demand for curvy clothes.

“They see someone as big as me and look at my dresses and say I can relate to that,” designer Makioba Olugbile said.

Olugbile, who says she’s a size “Africa 16”, showed a dramatic collection inspired by the moon “for how you want to look in the spotlight.”

Her business is booming. “You can’t even imagine,” Olugbile said, her eyes widening with excitement.

“Now people are embracing plus-size.”

A movement is born

The enthusiasm was infectious backstage.

“I saw some of them when they were walking, I was like — you go girls!” said 18-year-old model Aduke Shitta-Bey, wearing a white lace robe and her straight black hair in a high pony-tail.

“Nigerians appreciate curvy girls, they say why are you so skinny? They say big is healthy, that’s Nigerian beauty.”

The curvy collective was brought together by Latasha Ngwube, a 33-year-old former journalist and founder of About That Curvy Life, a lifestyle website “aimed at inspiring and supporting the plus-size community”.

Ngwube started using the hashtag #AboutThatCurvyLife when she was attending fashion shows. Now her website has 15,000 visitors a week.

A movement was born, Ngwube said.

“I think it’s just mission started, but for tonight we’ll take mission accomplished.”